The present invention relates to apparatus for wringing the strands of mops or similar cleaning implements.
A wringing apparatus for the strands of mops comprises a housing which can receive the liquid-carrying strands of a mop, and a mechanism which can move a squeezing element against the strands so that the strands are squeezed to be thereby relieved of moisture. In accordance with a presently known proposal, the housing of the wringing apparatus includes a substantially U-shaped member and the means for squeezing the strands comprises a flat one-piece biasing element which is movable from the open side toward the web of the U-shaped member to thereby urge the strands against the web. The mechanism for moving the biasing element with reference to the U-shaped member comprises a system of levers and/or links. The biasing element can be said to constitute the mobile fourth wall of the housing (the other three walls are the legs and the web of the U-shaped member). Such apparatus are simple and rather inexpensive; however, their squeezing or wringing action is not entirely satisfactory, especially if the strands of the mops are formed with knots and/or other irregularities which prevent the flat one-piece biasing element from contacting the major portions of strands in the space between the biasing element and the web of the U-shaped member. The irregularities of the strands determine the extent to which the biasing element can be moved toward the web of the U-shaped member and a substantial portion of each strand is likely to retain moisture when the wringing operation is completed.
Another drawback of the just described conventional wringing apparatus is that their moisture-expelling action is overly dependent on the orientation of strands which are inserted into the housing before the biasing element is moved from its retracted position. Thus, the user of the mop must be careful to introduce the strands in such a way that they are at least substantially parallel to each other and to the web of the U-shaped member because only such orientation ensures the expulsion of substantial quantities of the absorbed liquid provided, of course, that the strands are devoid of knots and like protuberances. Such careful introduction of strands into the housing takes up time and is not to be expected from the user, be it a housewife, a maid, a janitor or any other person in charge of sweeping floors or performing similar duties.
A further drawback of the aforedescribed apparatus is that each actuation of the mechanism for moving the biasing element necessitates the exercise of a substantial effort which is tiresome to the operator and often prevents an elderly or infirm person whom expelling adequate quantities of absorbed liquids, i.e., the wringing operation must be repeated at frequent intervals.